SLR15 Rifles AR-15 / M-16 / M-4 ARMORING COURSE
When: December 6-7, 2016
Where: Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy, Douglas Wyoming.
We conducted a 2-day (16-hour) AR-15 / M-16 / M-4 Armorer Course at the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy. This course was held on the days 2-3 of an Armorer Week that we have been doing at this location for several years. During the week we also did a 1-day 1911 Pistol Armorer Course, and a 2-day Law Enforcement Shotgun Armorer Course. The onsite facilities are excellent for multi-day courses, as there are classrooms, gun ranges, students can stay in the dorms, and eat meals onsite. We used a large classroom with plenty of table space, decent lighting, and a large screen that we were able to project animated graphics of the weapons system, powerpoint detailed pics of gun parts, and especially when looking at finer detail things like machining, stress cracks & wear. In this course we cover all variants of the AR15 / M16 Weapons system.
The student base was a mix of Law Enforcement from Wyoming, Colorado, and Kansas.
Rifles represented were Colt, Sig Sauer, Ruger, Daniel Defense, SLR15, Bushmaster, DPMS, Smith & Wesson, Rockriver, and a few custom builds.
Day-1 started with going through the course manual that all students are given. Students were supplied with tools, and shown what they are and give sources to obtain them. Everyone was also given some Slip2000 "EWL" Extreme Weapons Lubricant and #725 Cleaner Degreaser, etc. A short session of nomenclature was covered, at which time covered every feature and exterior piece of the rifle to include all the hidden design features that most people are not aware of, and everyone prepped the rifles for disassembly work. Everyone was taught the procedure series of checks that we recommend.
Everyone was taught our recommended procedure for field stripping a rifle and why. From there we got into a session on proper maintenance, showing what to clean, where to clean, and how to clean, and followed up with proper lubrication of where and why.
We went through armoring the bolt carrier assembly showing inspections, maintenance, upgrades, the three different types of gas rings, etc. We inspected gas keys, and found a couple that needed staking, of which was remedied using a MOACKS tools.
In the afternoon of day-1 we went through the lower receiver. All rifles present had collapsible stocks. When inspecting stock mounting, there were a couple that weren’t indexed correctly, and several needed their spanner nuts (castle nuts) staked, so everyone was given the opportunity to correct and stake things. Next we went through the fire control group, to include detailed inspections of all the sear engagement surfaces, single stage and two stage trigger systems, springs and pins. We were also able to get through the bolt catch, magazine catch, trigger guards, etc. The last portion of day-1 we showed th e eight cycles of firing in great detail, and got into proper timing, the gas system, four gas seals, and the differences between .223 & 5.56, piston vs gas impingement, etc.
Day-2 started with a review of all that was covered on day-1, at the same time we added more detail and dispelled some myths. We went back into cycles of fire in greater detail, and then into the timing cycles. The timing was covered in greater detail, showing issues of guns cycling too fast or slow, stress, and set the tone for troubleshooting throughout the rest of the day. We also covered suppressors, timing issues, stress, maintenance, and mounting.
The rest of the morning was spent back inside the lower receiver, looking at the trigger groups and receiver machining in greater detail. This detailed session allowed us to show bad factory parts, good quality of parts, single stage vs 2-stage, and how and why these may effect reliability, fail to fires, burst issues during semi-auto fire, etc.
Once factory machined parts were gone through, we went through where people may alter parts to do a trigger job, the issues with this, and how trigger jobs are done the right way vs screwed up. We do not recommend that people do a trigger job on a work rifle. The last session on the lower was going through full-auto and burst groups, and illegal street conversions.
The afternoon was spent on the upper receiver assembly. We went through the upper receiver, which included the forward assist, ejection port cover, sights & optics issues. Next was gas tube & piston issues, and how their longevity is related to proper barrel mounting. Gas tubes were inspected for stress and gauged to make sure they were in spec, this relates to barrel mounting.
We went through barrels, this included mounting & indexing, types of metals, finishing, longevity, harmonics, etc. Everyone was allowed to rebarrel their rifles or make adjustments, and few people took advantage of this time and tools being present, and did barrel work. Several barrels were removed, and none of them were mounted to the Milspec. All of the barrels that were removed, were remounted, torqued, and gauged for proper indexing they left the class.
Once all the rifles were put back together, everything was inspected and gauged to make sure it was in proper working order. Everyone did chamber inspections, checked & gauged the four gas seals, firing pin protrusion, trigger press, and headspace.
Here is a brief overview of a few things that were covered:
History of the Weapon
Cycles of Function
General Disassembly & Assembly
Identification of Common Problems and Parts
Nomenclature
Identification of Group Components
Semi, Burst, and Full Auto Parts and Conversions
Complete Armoring Disassembly / Assembly
Barrel Replacement
Cleaning and Maintenance
Sight and Distance Considerations
Ballistic Issues
Barrel: Twist, Length, and Profiles
Gas System
Parts Interchangability, including Brands
Headspace
Firing Pin Protrusion
Trigger Jobs
Chamber Inspection and Issues
Troubleshooting, diagnosis & repair
Gauging, Inspections, Stress & Interval Issues
Accessories and Customizing
Tool Options and Selection
Iron Sights
Optics
SOP/MOD Accessories and Additions
CY6
Greg Sullivan "Sully"
SLR15 Rifles
TheDefensiveEdge.com
(763) 712-0123
When: December 6-7, 2016
Where: Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy, Douglas Wyoming.
We conducted a 2-day (16-hour) AR-15 / M-16 / M-4 Armorer Course at the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy. This course was held on the days 2-3 of an Armorer Week that we have been doing at this location for several years. During the week we also did a 1-day 1911 Pistol Armorer Course, and a 2-day Law Enforcement Shotgun Armorer Course. The onsite facilities are excellent for multi-day courses, as there are classrooms, gun ranges, students can stay in the dorms, and eat meals onsite. We used a large classroom with plenty of table space, decent lighting, and a large screen that we were able to project animated graphics of the weapons system, powerpoint detailed pics of gun parts, and especially when looking at finer detail things like machining, stress cracks & wear. In this course we cover all variants of the AR15 / M16 Weapons system.
The student base was a mix of Law Enforcement from Wyoming, Colorado, and Kansas.
Rifles represented were Colt, Sig Sauer, Ruger, Daniel Defense, SLR15, Bushmaster, DPMS, Smith & Wesson, Rockriver, and a few custom builds.
Day-1 started with going through the course manual that all students are given. Students were supplied with tools, and shown what they are and give sources to obtain them. Everyone was also given some Slip2000 "EWL" Extreme Weapons Lubricant and #725 Cleaner Degreaser, etc. A short session of nomenclature was covered, at which time covered every feature and exterior piece of the rifle to include all the hidden design features that most people are not aware of, and everyone prepped the rifles for disassembly work. Everyone was taught the procedure series of checks that we recommend.
Everyone was taught our recommended procedure for field stripping a rifle and why. From there we got into a session on proper maintenance, showing what to clean, where to clean, and how to clean, and followed up with proper lubrication of where and why.
We went through armoring the bolt carrier assembly showing inspections, maintenance, upgrades, the three different types of gas rings, etc. We inspected gas keys, and found a couple that needed staking, of which was remedied using a MOACKS tools.
In the afternoon of day-1 we went through the lower receiver. All rifles present had collapsible stocks. When inspecting stock mounting, there were a couple that weren’t indexed correctly, and several needed their spanner nuts (castle nuts) staked, so everyone was given the opportunity to correct and stake things. Next we went through the fire control group, to include detailed inspections of all the sear engagement surfaces, single stage and two stage trigger systems, springs and pins. We were also able to get through the bolt catch, magazine catch, trigger guards, etc. The last portion of day-1 we showed th e eight cycles of firing in great detail, and got into proper timing, the gas system, four gas seals, and the differences between .223 & 5.56, piston vs gas impingement, etc.
Day-2 started with a review of all that was covered on day-1, at the same time we added more detail and dispelled some myths. We went back into cycles of fire in greater detail, and then into the timing cycles. The timing was covered in greater detail, showing issues of guns cycling too fast or slow, stress, and set the tone for troubleshooting throughout the rest of the day. We also covered suppressors, timing issues, stress, maintenance, and mounting.
The rest of the morning was spent back inside the lower receiver, looking at the trigger groups and receiver machining in greater detail. This detailed session allowed us to show bad factory parts, good quality of parts, single stage vs 2-stage, and how and why these may effect reliability, fail to fires, burst issues during semi-auto fire, etc.
Once factory machined parts were gone through, we went through where people may alter parts to do a trigger job, the issues with this, and how trigger jobs are done the right way vs screwed up. We do not recommend that people do a trigger job on a work rifle. The last session on the lower was going through full-auto and burst groups, and illegal street conversions.
The afternoon was spent on the upper receiver assembly. We went through the upper receiver, which included the forward assist, ejection port cover, sights & optics issues. Next was gas tube & piston issues, and how their longevity is related to proper barrel mounting. Gas tubes were inspected for stress and gauged to make sure they were in spec, this relates to barrel mounting.
We went through barrels, this included mounting & indexing, types of metals, finishing, longevity, harmonics, etc. Everyone was allowed to rebarrel their rifles or make adjustments, and few people took advantage of this time and tools being present, and did barrel work. Several barrels were removed, and none of them were mounted to the Milspec. All of the barrels that were removed, were remounted, torqued, and gauged for proper indexing they left the class.
Once all the rifles were put back together, everything was inspected and gauged to make sure it was in proper working order. Everyone did chamber inspections, checked & gauged the four gas seals, firing pin protrusion, trigger press, and headspace.
Here is a brief overview of a few things that were covered:
History of the Weapon
Cycles of Function
General Disassembly & Assembly
Identification of Common Problems and Parts
Nomenclature
Identification of Group Components
Semi, Burst, and Full Auto Parts and Conversions
Complete Armoring Disassembly / Assembly
Barrel Replacement
Cleaning and Maintenance
Sight and Distance Considerations
Ballistic Issues
Barrel: Twist, Length, and Profiles
Gas System
Parts Interchangability, including Brands
Headspace
Firing Pin Protrusion
Trigger Jobs
Chamber Inspection and Issues
Troubleshooting, diagnosis & repair
Gauging, Inspections, Stress & Interval Issues
Accessories and Customizing
Tool Options and Selection
Iron Sights
Optics
SOP/MOD Accessories and Additions
CY6
Greg Sullivan "Sully"
SLR15 Rifles
TheDefensiveEdge.com
(763) 712-0123